Agriculture

The Washington County 4-H Sharpshooters trap and archery teams kicked off their summer competitions on May 15 with the Spencer County Invitational competition. They followed that competition with the Washington/Marion County Invitational competition on June 5. Results from both competitions are listed below. The pistol and rifle teams will begin their summer competitive events on June 26 at the District 4 Invitational that will be held at the Mercer County Gun Club. Watch the Springfield Sun for results from the various competitions for shooting sports and other 4-H

Summer has begun according to the weather, but not the calendar. Personally, I love the heat and humidity, but I know many of you don’t. But hey, that’s why we have four seasons. There are several problems in the garden right now and if you read my article last week you know the big one is on tomatoes.

School is finally out for summer, and that means kids everywhere are free to spend their time playing outside. For some, that may mean taking a ride on an ATV. While we want to encourage children to be active during the summer, we want to make sure that they stay safe.

A couple of weeks ago we got word that late blight had been found in Kentucky on tomatoes in Northern Kentucky. Last week it showed up in Washington and surrounding counties. It is unusual for this disease to show up so early in Kentucky. We generally don’t have a problem with late blight until September or October, which isn’t much of a problem, however last year and now this year it has reared its ugly head early because of transplants sent to Kentucky from northern areas and in this year’s case, Michigan.

When many people think back to summers growing up, a traditional memory is often of attending summer camp. Many in Washington County will remember Bingham 4-H Camp that was located at the old Tathum Springs Hotel that burned down several years. This was the first 4-H Camp owned by Kentucky 4-H. Now, Kentucky 4-H has four camps and Washington County 4-H members camp at Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp that replaced Bingham 4-H Camp.

Some of you may have recently heard about a new plant growth regulator called RyzUp SmartGrass. It is being marketed to increase grass pasture production during late fall and early spring. The product is a formulation of gibberellic acid (often called GA). GA is a naturally occurring plant growth regulator that causes cell elongation in all plants and therefore is essential for plant growth.

A number of problems have begun to crop up in float beds around Kentucky, some related to the heat wave that took place back in April and others to the heavy rains that fell recently. Over the past week, we have seen a huge spike in reports of target spot along with a few cases of Pythium root rot. At the moment, the ‘strongest’ fungicide we can recommend for target spot is mancozeb (Dithane, Manzate, or Penncozeb).

I thought gardeners would be interested in reading this article written by Carol Spence.

Within the space of a couple of hours on a day in mid-May, hints of Kentucky and splashes of whimsy materialized across The Arboretum, the State Botanical Garden of Kentucky. Flowers sprang up so quickly throughout the garden that one might suspect it was the work of garden fairies.

Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer advises that Kentucky farmers may be able to utilize federal relief programs to get help for farm-related losses incurred since April 30 as a result of severe storms, flooding, mudslides, straight line winds and tornadoes.

“Kentucky farmers have lost thousands of acres of crops, and some had farm equipment and fences damaged,” Commissioner Farmer said. “I want them to know they are not alone. There are several programs available through the Farm Service Agency to assist them in their recovery.”